Summary (from Goodreads):
A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself.
Long before George Takei braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.
In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.
They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.
My Review:
I've been a huge admirer of George Takei for years now, thanks to his advocacy and humor on social media. I respect him even more now for having shared his poignant story of internment during World War II. Seeing the events of those years through his eyes brought them to a level of life that no textbook could ever do successfully. The structure of the book (especially the timelines - he flashes back and forth between past and present fairly abruptly, to the point where I often had to check the page numbers to ensure I hadn't accidentally skipped a page) might be jarring and confusing for some readers, especially those unfamiliar with the way graphic novels are read. With practice and thought, it is a structure that becomes easy to follow, but I would hesitate to share this book with students younger than eighth grade. The history and background, as well as some of the political and philosophical contexts, will be too high-level for most middle schoolers. More mature readers looking to understand the internment of the Japanese during the war will find this book compelling, however, and adult readers should have no trouble following the story.
Read: February 2022
